Starting Vim

Most often, Nvim is started to edit a single file with the command:

nvim filename

More generally, Nvim is started with:

nvim [option | filename] ..

Option arguments and file name arguments can be mixed, and any number of themcan be given. However, watch out for options that take an argument.

The following items decide how to start editing:

-file---filenameOne or more file names. The first one will be the currentfile and read into the buffer. The cursor will be positionedon the first line of the buffer.To avoid a file name starting with a '-' being interpreted asan option, precede the arglist with "--", e.g.:

nvim -- -filename

All arguments after "--" are interpreted as file names, noother options or "+command" arguments can follow.

--
- Alias for stdin (standard input).Example:

echo text | nvim - file

"text" is read into buffer 1, "file" is opened as buffer 2.In most cases (except -s, -es,--embed, --headless) if stdinis not a TTY then it is read as text, so "-" is implied:

echo text | nvim file

The buffer will be marked as modified, because it containstext that needs to be saved (except for readonly-R mode).If you don't like that, put these lines in your init.vim:

" Don't set 'modified' when reading from stdinau StdinReadPost * set nomodified

To read stdin as Normal commands use-s with "-":

echo "ifoo" | nvim -s -

To read stdin as Ex commands use-es or-e:

echo "echo getpid()" | nvim -e - -V1

To open a file literally named "-", put it after "--":

echo foo | nvim -- -

To read stdin as text with--headless use "-".

-t-tag-t{tag}A tag. "tag" is looked up in the tags file, the associatedfile becomes the current file, and the associated command isexecuted. Mostly this is used for C programs, in which case"tag" often is a function name. The effect is that the filecontaining that function becomes the current file and thecursor is positioned on the start of the function (seetags).

-q-qf-q [errorfile]QuickFix mode. The file with the name [errorfile] is readand the first error is displayed. Seequickfix.If [errorfile] is not given, the'errorfile' option is usedfor the file name. See'errorfile' for the default value.

(nothing)Without one of the four items above, Vim will start editing anew buffer. It's empty and doesn't have a file name.

startup-options
The option arguments may be given in any order. Single-letter options can becombined after one dash. There can be no option arguments after the "--"argument.

--help-h--help-?-?-hGive usage (help) message and exit.

--version-v--version-vPrint version information and exit. Same output as for:version command.

--clean
--cleanMimics a fresh install of Nvim:

--noplugin
--nopluginSkip loading plugins. Resets the'loadplugins' option.Note that the-u argument may also disable loading plugins:(nothing)yes yes-u NONEno no-u NORCno yes--nopluginyes no

--startuptime{fname}--startuptime
During startup write timing messages to the file{fname}.This can be used to find out where time is spent while loadingyourconfig, plugins and opening the first file.When{fname} already exists new messages are appended.

-+
+[num]The cursor will be positioned on line "num" for the firstfile being edited. If "num" is missing, the cursor will bepositioned on the last line.

-+/
+/{pat}The cursor will be positioned on the first line containing"pat" in the first file being edited (seepattern for theavailable search patterns). The search starts at the cursorposition, which can be the first line or the cursor positionlast used fromshada. To force a search from the firstline use "+1 +/pat".

+{command}-+c-c-c{command}{command} will be executed after the first file has beenread (and after autocommands and modelines for that file havebeen processed). "command" is interpreted as an Ex command.If the "command" contains spaces, it must be enclosed indouble quotes (this depends on the shell that is used).Example:

vim  "+set si"  main.cvim  "+find stdio.h"vim  -c "set ff=dos"  -c wq  mine.mak

Note: You can use up to 10 "+" or "-c" arguments in a Vimcommand. They are executed in the order given. A "-S"argument counts as a "-c" argument as well.

--cmd{command}--cmd
{command} will be executed before processing any vimrc file.Otherwise, it acts like -c{command}. You can use up to 10 ofthese commands, independently from "-c" commands.

-S
-S [file]Executes Vimscript or Lua (".lua") [file] after the first filehas been read. See also:source. If [file] is not given,defaults to "Session.vim". Equivalent to:

-c "source {file}"

Can be repeated like "-c", subject to the same limit of 10"-c" arguments.{file} cannot start with a "-".

-L-L-r-rRecovery mode. Without a file name argument, a list ofexisting swap files is given. With a file name, a swap fileis read to recover a crashed editing session. Seecrash-recovery.

-R
-RReadonly mode. The'readonly' option will be set for all thefiles being edited. You can still edit the buffer, but willbe prevented from accidentally overwriting a file. If youforgot that you are in View mode and did make some changes,you can overwrite a file by adding an exclamation mark tothe Ex command, as in ":w!". The'readonly' option can bereset with ":set noro" (see the options chapter,options).Subsequent edits will not be done in readonly mode.The'updatecount' option will be set to 10000, meaning thatthe swap file will not be updated automatically very often.See-M for disallowing modifications.

-m
-mModifications not allowed to be written. The'write' optionwill be reset, so that writing files is disabled. However,the'write' option can be set to enable writing again.

-M
-MModifications not allowed. The'modifiable' option will bereset, so that changes are not allowed. The'write' optionwill be reset, so that writing files is disabled. However,the'modifiable' and'write' options can be set to enablechanges and writing.

-e-e-E-EStart Nvim in Ex modegQ, seeEx-mode.

If stdin is not a TTY: -e reads/executes stdin as Ex commands. -E reads stdin as text (into buffer 1).

-es-es-Es-s-exsilent-mode-EsScript mode, aka "silent mode", aka "batch mode". No UI,disables most prompts and messages. Unrelated to-s.See also-S to run script files.

-es reads/executes stdin as Ex commands.

printf "put ='foo'\n%%print\n" | nvim -es

-Es reads stdin as text (into buffer 1). Use-c or "+" tosend commands.

printf "foo\n" | nvim -Es +"%print"

These commands display on stdout::list:number:print:setWith:verbose or'verbose', other commands display on stderr:

nvim -es +"verbose echo 'foo'"nvim -V1 -es +"echo 'foo'"

Skips userconfig unless-u was given.Disablesshada unless-i was given.Disables swapfile (like-n).

-l
-l{script} [args]Executes Lua{script} non-interactively (no UI) with optional[args] after processing any preceding Nvimcli-arguments,then exits. Exits 1 on Lua error. See-S to run multiple Luascripts without args, with a UI.lua-args
All [args] are treated as{script} arguments and stored in theLua_G.arg global table, thus "-l" ends processing of Nvimarguments. The{script} name is stored at_G.arg[0].

Sets'verbose' to 1 (like "-V1"), so Luaprint() writes tooutput, as well as other message-emitting functions like:echo.If{script} prints messages and doesn't cause Nvim to exit,Nvim ensures output ends with a newline.

Arguments before "-l" are processed before executing{script}.This example quits before executing "foo.lua":

nvim +q -l foo.lua

This loads Lua module "bar" before executing "foo.lua":

nvim +"lua require('bar')" -l foo.lua

lua-shebang
You can set the "shebang" of the script so that Nvim executesthe script when called with "./" from a shell (remember to"chmod u+x"):

#!/usr/bin/env -S nvim -l

Skips userconfig unless-u was given.Disables plugins unless'loadplugins' was set.Disablesshada unless-i was given.Disables swapfile (like-n).

-ll
-ll{script} [args]Executes a Lua script, similarly to-l, but the editor is notinitialized. This gives a Lua environment similar to a workerthread. Seelua-loop-threading.

Unlike-l no prior arguments are allowed.

-b
-bBinary mode. File I/O will only recognize<NL> to separatelines. The'expandtab' option will be reset. The'textwidth'option is set to 0.'modeline' is reset. The'binary' optionis set. This is done after reading thevimrc but beforereading any file in the arglist. See alsoedit-binary.

-A
-AArabic mode. Sets the'arabic' option on.

-H
-HHebrew mode. Sets the'rightleft' option on and the'keymap'option to "hebrew".

-Vverbose-V[N]Verbose. Sets the'verbose' option to [N] (default: 10).Messages will be given for each file that is ":source"d andfor reading or writing a ShaDa file. Can be used to findout what is happening upon startup and exit.Example:

nvim -V8

-V[N]{file}Like -V and sets'verbosefile' to{file} (must not start witha digit). Messages are not displayed, instead they arewritten to{file}.Example:

nvim -V20vimlog

-D
-DDebugging. Go to debugging mode when executing the firstcommand from a script.debug-mode

-n
-nDisablesswap-file by setting'updatecount' to 0 (afterexecuting anyvimrc). Recovery after a crash will beimpossible. Improves performance when working with a file ona very slow medium (usb drive, network share).

Enable it again by setting'updatecount' to some value, e.g.":set updatecount=100".

To reduce accesses to the disk, don't use "-n", but set'updatetime' and'updatecount' to very big numbers, and type":preserve" when you want to save your work. This way youkeep the possibility for crash recovery.

-o
-o[N]Open N windows, split horizontally. If [N] is not given,one window is opened for every file given as argument. Ifthere is not enough room, only the first few files get awindow. If there are more windows than arguments, the lastfew windows will be editing an empty file.

-O
-O[N]Open N windows, split vertically. Otherwise, it's like -o.If both the -o and the -O option are given, the last one onthe command line determines how the windows will be split.

-p
-p[N]Open N tab pages. If [N] is not given, one tab page is openedfor every file given as argument. The maximum is set with'tabpagemax' pages (default 50). If there are more tab pagesthan arguments, the last few tab pages will be editing anempty file. Also seetabpage.-d
-dStart indiff-mode.

-uE282-u{vimrc}The file{vimrc} is read for initializations. Most otherinitializations are skipped; seeinitialization.

This can be used to start Vim in a special mode, with specialmappings and settings. A shell alias can be used to makethis easy to use. For example, in a C shell descendant:

alias vimc 'nvim -u ~/.config/nvim/c_init.vim \!*'

And in a Bash shell:

alias vimc='nvim -u ~/.config/nvim/c_init.vim'

Also consider using autocommands; seeautocommand.

When{vimrc} is "NONE" (all uppercase), all initializationsfrom files and environment variables are skipped. Plugins andsyntax highlighting are also skipped.

When{vimrc} is "NORC" (all uppercase), this has the sameeffect as "NONE", but plugins and syntax highlighting are notskipped.

-i
-i{shada}The file{shada} is used instead of the default ShaDafile. If the name "NONE" is used (all uppercase), no ShaDafile is read or written, even if'shada' is set or when":rsh" or ":wsh" are used. See alsoshada-file.

-s
-s{scriptin}Read script file{scriptin}, interpreting characters asNormal-mode input. The same can be done with ":source!":

:source! {scriptin}

Reads from stdin if{scriptin} is "-":

echo "ifoo" | nvim -s -

If the end of the file is reached before Nvim exits, furthercharacters are read from the keyboard.

Does not work with-es. See alsocomplex-repeat.

-w_nr
-w{number}-w{number}Set the'window' option to{number}.

-w
-w{scriptout}All keys that you type are recorded in the file "scriptout",until you exit Vim. Useful to create a script file to be usedwith "vim -s" or ":source!". Appends to the "scriptout" fileif it already exists.{scriptout} cannot start with a digit.See alsovim.on_key().See alsocomplex-repeat.

-W
-W{scriptout}Like -w, but do not append, overwrite an existing file.

--api-info
--api-infoPrint msgpack-encodedapi-metadata and exit.

--embed
--embedUse stdin/stdout as a msgpack-RPC channel, so applications canembed and control Nvim via the RPCAPI. If the channel isclosed (except by:detach), Nvim exits.

Waits for the client ("embedder") to callnvim_ui_attach()before sourcing startup files and reading buffers, so that UIscan deterministically handle (display) early messages,dialogs, etc. The client can do other requests beforenvim_ui_attach (e.g.nvim_get_api_info for feature-detection).During this pre-startup phase the user config is of course notavailable (similar to--cmd).

Non-UI embedders must pass--headless, then startup willcontinue without waiting fornvim_ui_attach:

nvim --embed --headless

which is equivalent to:

nvim --headless --cmd "call stdioopen({'rpc': v:true})"

UI embedders that want the UI protocol on a socket (instead ofstdio) must pass--listen as well as--embed:

nvim --embed --listen addr

See also:ui-startupchannel-stdio

--headless
--headlessStart without UI, and do not wait fornvim_ui_attach. Thebuiltin TUI is not used, so stdio works as an arbitrarycommunication channel.channel-stdio

Also useful for scripting (tests) to see messages that wouldnot be printed by-es.

To detect if a UI is available, check ifnvim_list_uis() isempty during or afterVimEnter.

To read stdin as text, "-" must be given explicitly:--headless cannot assume that stdin is just text.

echo foo | nvim --headless +"%print" +"q!" -

See also--embed.See also-es, which also disables most messages.

--listen{addr}--listen
StartRPC server on pipe or TCP address{addr}. Sets theprimary listen addressv:servername to{addr}.serverstart()

To start the server on-demand with systemd, use a systemdsocket unit and associated service unit running:

systemd-socket-proxyd --exit-idle-time

At startup, Nvim checks environment variables and files and sets valuesaccordingly, proceeding as follows:

1. Set the'shell' optionSHELLCOMSPECThe environment variable SHELL, if it exists, is used to set the'shell' option. On Win32, the COMSPEC variable is usedif SHELL is not set.

2. Process the argumentsThe options and file names from the command that start Vim areinspected.The-V argument can be used to display or log what happens next,useful for debugging the initializations.The--cmd arguments are executed.Buffers are created for all files (but not loaded yet).

3. Start a server (unless--listen was given) and setv:servername.

4. Wait for UI to connect.Nvim started with--embed waits for the UI to connect beforeproceeding to load user configuration.

5. Setupdefault-mappings anddefault-autocmds. Createpopup-menu.

6. Enable filetype and indent plugins.This does the same as the command:

:runtime! ftplugin.vim indent.vim

Skipped if the "-u NONE" command line argument was given.

7. Load user config (execute Ex commands from files, environment, …).$VIMINIT environment variable is read as one Ex command line (separatemultiple commands with '|' or<NL>).configinit.viminit.luavimrcexrcA file containing initialization commands is generically calleda "vimrc" or config file. It can be either Vimscript ("init.vim") orLua ("init.lua"), but not both.E5422See alsovimrc-intro andbase-directories.

The config file is located at:Unix~/.config/nvim/init.vim(or init.lua)Windows~/AppData/Local/nvim/init.vim(or init.lua)$XDG_CONFIG_HOME $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nvim/init.vim(or init.lua)

If Nvim was started with "-u{file}" then{file} is used as the configand all initializations until 8. are skipped. $MYVIMRC is not set."nvim -u NORC" can be used to skip these initializations withoutreading a file. "nvim -u NONE" also skips plugins and syntaxhighlighting.-u

If Nvim was started with-es or-Es or-l all initializations until 8.are skipped.system-vimrcsysinit.vim a. The system vimrc file is read for initializations. Ifnvim/sysinit.vim file exists in one of $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS, it will beused. Otherwise the system vimrc file is used. The path of this fileis given by the:version command. Usually it's "$VIM/sysinit.vim".

VIMINITEXINIT$MYVIMRC b. Locations searched for initializations, in order of preference:

c. If the'exrc' option is on (which is NOT the default), the currentdirectory is searched for the following files, in order of precedence:

8. Enable filetype detection.This does the same as the command:

:runtime! filetype.lua

Skipped if ":filetype off" was called or if the "-u NONE" command lineargument was given.

9. Enable syntax highlighting.This does the same as the command:

:runtime! syntax/syntax.vim

Skipped if ":syntax off" was called or if the "-u NONE" commandline argument was given.

10. Set thev:vim_did_init variable to 1.

11. Load the plugin scripts.load-plugins
This does the same as the command:

:runtime! plugin/**/*.{vim,lua}

The result is that all directories in'runtimepath' will be searchedfor the "plugin" sub-directory and all files ending in ".vim" or".lua" will be sourced (in alphabetical order per directory),also in subdirectories. First "*.vim" are sourced, then "*.lua" files,per directory.

However, directories in'runtimepath' ending in "after" are skippedhere and only loaded after packages, see below.Loading plugins won't be done when:

Packages are loaded. These are plugins, as above, but found in the"start" directory of each entry in'packpath'. Every plugin directoryfound is added in'runtimepath' and then the plugins are sourced. Seepackages.

The plugins scripts are loaded, as above, but now only the directoriesending in "after" are used. Note that'runtimepath' will have changedif packages have been found, but that should not add a directoryending in "after".

12. Set'shellpipe' and'shellredir'The'shellpipe' and'shellredir' options are set according to thevalue of the'shell' option, unless they have been set before.This means that Nvim will figure out the values of'shellpipe' and'shellredir' for you, unless you have set them yourself.

13. Set'updatecount' to zero, if "-n" command argument used.

14. Set binary options if the-b flag was given.

15. Read theshada-file.

16. Read the quickfix file if the-q flag was given, or exit on failure.

17. Open all windowsWhen the-o flag was given, windows will be opened (but notdisplayed yet).When the-p flag was given, tab pages will be created (but notdisplayed yet).When switching screens, it happens now. Redrawing starts.If the-q flag was given, the first error is jumped to.Buffers for all windows will be loaded, without triggeringBufAddautocommands.

18. Execute startup commandsIf a-t flag was given, the tag is jumped to.Commands given with-c and+cmd are executed.The starting flag is reset, has("vim_starting") will now return zero.Thev:vim_did_enter variable is set to 1.TheVimEnter autocommands are executed.

Whenever you have changed values of options or when you have created amapping, then you may want to save them in a vimrc file for later use. Seesave-settings about saving the current state of settings to a file.

trojan-horse
While reading the "vimrc" or the "exrc" file in the current directory, somecommands can be disabled for security reasons by setting the'secure' option.This is always done when executing the command from a tags file. Otherwise,it would be possible that you accidentally use a vimrc or tags file thatsomebody else created and contains nasty commands. The disabled commands arethe ones that start a shell, the ones that write to a file, and ":autocmd".The ":map" commands are echoed, so you can see which keys are being mapped.If you want Vim to execute all commands in a local vimrc file, youcan reset the'secure' option in the EXINIT or VIMINIT environment variable orin the global exrc or vimrc file. This is not possible in vimrc orexrc in the current directory, for obvious reasons.On Unix systems, this only happens if you are not the owner of thevimrc file. Warning: If you unpack an archive that contains a vimrc or exrcfile, it will be owned by you. You won't have the security protection. Checkthe vimrc file before you start Vim in that directory, or reset the'exrc'option. Some Unix systems allow a user to do "chown" on a file. This makesit possible for another user to create a nasty vimrc and make you the owner.Be careful!When using tag search commands, executing the search command (the lastpart of the line in the tags file) is always done in secure mode. This worksjust like executing a command from a vimrc in the current directory.

slow-start
If Vim takes a long time to start up, use the--startuptime argument to findout what happens.

If you have'shada' enabled, the loading of the ShaDa file may take awhile. You can find out if this is the problem by disabling ShaDa for amoment (use the Vim argument "-i NONE",-i). Try reducing the number oflines stored in a register with ":set shada='20,<50,s10".shada-file.

bisect
The extreme flexibility of editors like Vim and Emacs means that any plugin orsetting can affect the entire editor in ways that are not initially obvious.

To find the cause of a problem in your config, you must "bisect" it:1. Remove or disable half of yourconfig.2. Restart Nvim.3. If the problem still occurs, goto 1.4. If the problem is gone, restore half of the removed lines.5. Continue narrowing your config in this way, until you find the setting or plugin causing the issue.

:intro
When Vim starts without a file name, an introductory message is displayed. Itis removed as soon as the display is redrawn. To see the message again, usethe ":intro" command. To avoid the intro message on startup, add the "I" flagto'shortmess'.

$VIM and $VIMRUNTIME

$VIM
The environment variable "$VIM" is used to locate various user files for Nvim,such as the userconfig. This depends on the system, seestartup.

Nvim will try to get the value for $VIM in this order:

1. Environment variable $VIM, if it is set.2. Path derived from the'helpfile' option, unless it contains some environment variable too (default is "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt"). File name ("help.txt", etc.) is removed. Trailing directory names are removed, in this order: "doc", "runtime".3. Path derived from the location of thenvim executable.4. Compile-time defined installation directory (see output of ":version").

After doing this once, Nvim sets the $VIM environment variable.

$VIMRUNTIME
The environment variable "$VIMRUNTIME" is used to locate various supportfiles, such as the documentation and syntax-highlighting files. For example,the main help file is normally "$VIMRUNTIME/doc/help.txt".

Nvim will try to get the value for $VIMRUNTIME in this order:

1. Environment variable $VIMRUNTIME, if it is set.2. Directory path "$VIM/runtime", if it exists.3. Value of $VIM environment variable. This is for backwards compatibility with older Vim versions.4. If "../share/nvim/runtime" exists relative tov:progpath, it is used.5. Path derived from the'helpfile' option (if it doesn't contain '$') with "doc/help.txt" removed from the end.

After doing this once, Nvim sets the $VIMRUNTIME environment variable.

In case you need the value of $VIMRUNTIME in a shell (e.g., for a script thatgreps in the help files) you might be able to use this:

VIMRUNTIME="$(nvim --clean --headless --cmd 'echo $VIMRUNTIME|q')"

Suspendingsuspend

CTRL-Zv_CTRL-ZCTRL-ZSuspend Nvim, like ":stop".Works in Normal and in Visual mode. In Insert andCommand-line mode, theCTRL-Z is inserted as a normalcharacter. In Visual mode Nvim goes back to Normalmode.

:sus[pend][!]or:sus:suspend:st:stop:st[op][!]Suspend Nvim using OS "job control"; it will continueif you make it the foreground job again. TriggersVimSuspend before suspending andVimResume whenresumed.If "!" is not given and'autowrite' is set, everybuffer with changes and a file name is written out.If "!" is given or'autowrite' is not set, changedbuffers are not written, don't forget to bring Nvimback to the foreground later!

In the GUI, suspending is implementation-defined.

There are several ways to exit Vim:

When using:cquit or when there was an error message Vim exits with exitcode 1. Errors can be avoided by using:silent! or with:catch.

Mostly you will edit your vimrc files manually. This gives you the greatestflexibility. There are a few commands to generate a vimrc file automatically.You can use these files as they are, or copy/paste lines to include in anothervimrc file.

:mk:mkexrc:mk[exrc] [file]Write current key mappings and changed options to[file] (default ".exrc" in the current directory),unless it already exists.

:mk[exrc]! [file]Always write current key mappings and changedoptions to [file] (default ".exrc" in the currentdirectory).

:mkv:mkvi:mkvimrc:mkv[imrc][!] [file]Like ":mkexrc", but the default is ".nvimrc" in thecurrent directory. The ":version" command is alsowritten to the file.

These commands will write ":map" and ":set" commands to a file, in such a waythat when these commands are executed, the current key mappings and optionswill be set to the same values. The options'columns','endofline','fileformat','lines','modified', and'scroll' are not included, becausethese are terminal or file dependent.Note that the options'binary','paste' and'readonly' are included, thismight not always be what you want.

When special keys are used in mappings, the'cpoptions' option will betemporarily set to its Vim default, to avoid the mappings to bemisinterpreted. This makes the file incompatible with Vi, but makes sure itcan be used with different terminals.

Only global mappings are stored, not mappings local to a buffer.

A common method is to use a defaultconfig file, make some modificationswith ":map" and ":set" commands and write the modified file. First read thedefault vimrc in with a command like ":source ~piet/.vimrc.Cprogs", changethe settings and then save them in the current directory with ":mkvimrc!". Ifyou want to make this file your defaultconfig, move it to$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nvim. You could also use autocommandsautocommand and/ormodelinesmodeline.

vimrc-option-example
If you only want to add a single option setting to your vimrc, you can usethese steps:1. Edit your vimrc file with Vim.2. Play with the option until it's right. E.g., try out different values for'guifont'.3. Append a line to set the value of the option, using the expression register '=' to enter the value. E.g., for the'guifont' option:

o:set guifont=<C-R>=&guifont<CR><Esc>

[<C-R> is aCTRL-R,<CR> is a return,<Esc> is the escape key] You need to escape special characters, esp. spaces.

This is introduced in sections21.4 and21.5 of the user manual.

Viewview-fileA View is a collection of settings that apply to one window. You can save aView and when you restore it later, the text is displayed in the same way.The options and mappings in this window will also be restored, so that you cancontinue editing like when the View was saved.

Sessionsession-fileA Session keeps the Views for all windows, plus the global settings. You cansave a Session and when you restore it later the window layout looks the same.You can use a Session to quickly switch between different projects,automatically loading the files you were last working on in that project.

Views and Sessions are a nice addition to ShaDa files, which are used toremember information for all Views and Sessions togethershada-file.

You can quickly start editing with a previously saved View or Session with the-S argument:

vim -S Session.vim

:mks:mksession:mks[ession][!] [file]Write a Vim script that restores the current editingsession.When [!] is included, an existing file is overwritten.When [file] is omitted, "Session.vim" is used.

The output of ":mksession" is like ":mkvimrc", but additional commands areadded to the file. Which ones depends on the'sessionoptions' option. Theresulting file, when executed with a ":source" command:1. Restores global mappings and options, if'sessionoptions' contains "options". Script-local mappings will not be written.2. Restores global variables that start with an uppercase letter and contain at least one lowercase letter, if'sessionoptions' contains "globals".3. Closes all windows in the current tab page, except the current one; closes all tab pages except the current one (this results in currently loaded buffers to be unloaded, some may become hidden if'hidden' is set or otherwise specified); wipes out the current buffer, if it is empty and unnamed.4. Restores the current directory, if'sessionoptions' contains "curdir", or sets the current directory to where the Session file is, if'sessionoptions' contains "sesdir".5. Restores GUI Vim window position, if'sessionoptions' contains "winpos".6. Restores screen size, if'sessionoptions' contains "resize".7. Reloads the buffer list, with the last cursor positions. If'sessionoptions' contains "buffers" then all buffers are restored, including hidden and unloaded buffers. Otherwise, only buffers in windows are restored.8. Restores all windows with the same layout. If'sessionoptions' contains "help", help windows are restored. If'sessionoptions' contains "blank", windows editing a buffer without a name will be restored. If'sessionoptions' contains "winsize" and no (help/blank) windows were left out, the window sizes are restored (relative to the screen size). Otherwise, the windows are just given sensible sizes.9. Restores the Views for all the windows, as with:mkview. But'sessionoptions' is used instead of'viewoptions'.10. If a file exists with the same name as the Session file, but ending in "x.vim" (for eXtra), executes that as well. You can use*x.vim files to specify additional settings and actions associated with a given Session, such as creating menu items in the GUI version.

After restoring the Session, the full filename of your current Session isavailable in the internal variablev:this_session.An example mapping:

:nmap <F2> :wa<Bar>exe "mksession! " .. v:this_session<CR>:so ~/sessions/

This saves the current Session, and starts off the command to load another.

A session includes all tab pages, unless "tabpages" was removed from'sessionoptions'.tab-page

TheSessionLoadPost autocmd event is triggered after a session file isloaded/sourced.SessionLoad-variable
While the session file is loading, the SessionLoad global variable is set to1. Plugins can use this to postpone some work until the SessionLoadPost eventis triggered.

:mkvie:mkview:mkvie[w][!] [file]Write a Vim script that restores the contents of thecurrent window.When [!] is included, an existing file is overwritten.When [file] is omitted or is a number from 1 to 9, aname is generated and'viewdir' prepended. When thelast path part of'viewdir' does not exist, thisdirectory is created. E.g., when'viewdir' is"$VIM/vimfiles/view" then "view" is created in"$VIM/vimfiles".An existing file is always overwritten then. Use:loadview to load this view again.When [file] is the name of a file ('viewdir' is notused), a command to edit the file is added to thegenerated file.

The output of ":mkview" contains these items:1. The argument list used in the window. When the global argument list is used, it is reset to the global list. The index in the argument list is also restored.2. The file being edited in the window. If there is no file, the window is made empty.3. Restore mappings, abbreviations and options local to the window, if'viewoptions' contains "options" or "localoptions". Only option values that are local to the current buffer and the current window are restored. When storing the view as part of a session and "options" is in'sessionoptions', global values for local options will be stored too.4. Restore folds when using manual folding and'viewoptions' contains "folds". Restore manually opened and closed folds.5. The scroll position and the cursor position in the file. Doesn't work very well when there are closed folds.6. The local current directory, if it is different from the global current directory and'viewoptions' contains "curdir".

Note that Views and Sessions are not perfect:

:lo:loadview:lo[adview] [nr]Load the view for the current file. When [nr] isomitted, the view stored with ":mkview" is loaded.When [nr] is specified, the view stored with ":mkview[nr]" is loaded.

The combination of ":mkview" and ":loadview" can be used to store up to tendifferent views of a file. These are remembered in the directory specifiedwith the'viewdir' option. The views are stored using the file name. If afile is renamed or accessed through a (symbolic) link, the view will not befound.

You might want to clean up your'viewdir' directory now and then.

To automatically save and restore views for*.c files:

au BufWinLeave *.c mkviewau BufWinEnter *.c silent! loadview

Shada ("shared data") fileshadashada-file

If you exit Vim and later start it again, you would normally lose a lot ofinformation. The ShaDa file can be used to remember that information, whichenables you to continue where you left off. Its name is the abbreviation ofSHAred DAta because it is used for sharing data between Nvim sessions.

This is introduced in section21.3 of the user manual.

The ShaDa file is used to store:

You could also use a Session file. The difference is that the ShaDa filedoes not depend on what you are working on. There normally is only oneShaDa file. Session files are used to save the state of a specific editingSession. You could have several Session files, one for each project you areworking on. ShaDa and Session files together can be used to effectivelyenter Vim and directly start working in your desired setup.session-file

shada-read
When Vim is started and the'shada' option is non-empty, the contents ofthe ShaDa file are read and the info can be used in the appropriate places.Thev:oldfiles variable is filled. The marks are not read in at startup(but file marks are). Seeinitialization for how to set the'shada'option upon startup.

shada-write
When Vim exits and'shada' is non-empty, the info is stored in the ShaDa file(it's actually merged with the existing one, if one existsshada-merging).The'shada' option is a string containing information about what info shouldbe stored, and contains limits on how much should be stored (see'shada').

Notes for Unix:

Marks are stored for each file separately. When a file is read and'shada'is non-empty, the marks for that file are read from the ShaDa file. NOTE:The marks are only written when exiting Vim, which is fine because marks areremembered for all the files you have opened in the current editing session,unless ":bdel" is used. If you want to save the marks for a file that you areabout to abandon with ":bdel", use ":wsh". The '[' and ']' marks are notstored, but the '"' mark is. The '"' mark is very useful for jumping to thecursor position when the file was last exited. No marks are saved for filesthat start with any string given with the "r" flag in'shada'. This can beused to avoid saving marks for files on removable media (for MS-Windows youwould use "ra:,rb:").Thev:oldfiles variable is filled with the file names that the ShaDa filehas marks for.

shada-file-marks
Uppercase marks ('A to 'Z) are stored when writing the ShaDa file. Thenumbered marks ('0 to '9) are a bit special. When the ShaDa file is written(when exiting or with the:wshada command), '0 is set to the currentcursor position and file. The old '0 is moved to '1, '1 to '2, etc. Thisresembles what happens with the "1 to "9 delete registers. If the currentcursor position is already present in '0 to '9, it is moved to '0, to avoidhaving the same position twice. The result is that with "'0", you can jumpback to the file and line where you exited Vim. To do that right away, tryusing this command:

vim -c "normal '0"

In a C shell descendant, you could make an alias for it:

alias lvim vim -c '"'normal "'"0'"'

For a Bash-like shell:

alias lvim='vim -c "normal '\''0"'

Use the "r" flag in'shada' to specify for which files no marks should beremembered.

When writing ShaDa files with:wshada without bang or at regular exitinformation in the existing ShaDa file is merged with information from currentNvim instance. For this purpose ShaDa files store timestamps associatedwith ShaDa entries. Specifically the following is being done:

1. History lines are merged, ordered by timestamp. Maximum amount of items in ShaDa file is defined by'shada' option (shada-/,shada-:,shada-@, etc: one suboption for each character that represents history name (:history)).2. Local marks and changes for files that were not opened by Nvim are copied to new ShaDa file. Marks for files that were opened by Nvim are merged, changes to files opened by Nvim are ignored.shada-'3. Jump list is merged: jumps are ordered by timestamp, identical jumps (identical position AND timestamp) are squashed.4. Search patterns and substitute strings are not merged: search pattern or substitute string which has greatest timestamp will be the only one copied to ShaDa file.5. For each register entity with greatest timestamp is the only saved.shada-<6. All saved variables are saved from current Nvim instance. Additionally existing variable values are copied, meaning that the only way to remove variable from a ShaDa file is either removing it by hand or disabling writing variables completely.shada-!7. For each global mark entity with greatest timestamp is the only saved.8. Buffer list and header are the only entries which are not merged in any fashion: the only header and buffer list present are the ones from the Nvim instance which was last writing the file.shada-%

ShaDa files are forward and backward compatible. This means that

1. Entries which have unknown type (i.e. that hold unidentified data) are ignored when reading and blindly copied when writing.2. Register entries with unknown register name are ignored when reading and blindly copied when writing. Limitation: only registers that use name with code in interval [1, 255] are supported.registers3. Register entries with unknown register type are ignored when reading and merged as usual when writing.getregtype()4. Local and global mark entries with unknown mark names are ignored when reading. When writing global mark entries are blindly copied and local mark entries are also blindly copied, but only if file they are attached to fits in theshada-' limit. Unknown local mark entry's timestamp is also taken into account when calculating which files exactly should fit into this limit. Limitation: only marks that use name with code in interval [1, 255] are supported.mark-motions5. History entries with unknown history type are ignored when reading and blindly copied when writing. Limitation: there can be only up to 256 history types.history6. Unknown keys found in register, local mark, global mark, change, jump and search pattern entries are saved internally and dumped when writing. Entries created during Nvim session never have such additions.7. Additional elements found in replacement string and history entries are saved internally and dumped. Entries created during Nvim session never have such additions.8. Additional elements found in variable entries are simply ignored when reading. When writing new variables they will be preserved during merging, but that's all. Variable values dumped from current Nvim session never have additional elements, even if variables themselves were obtained by reading ShaDa files.

"Blindly" here means that there will be no attempts to somehow merge them,even if other entries (with known name/type/etc) are merged.shada-merging

Two commands can be used to read and write the ShaDa file manually. Thiscan be used to exchange registers between two running Vim programs: Firsttype ":wsh" in one and then ":rsh" in the other. Note that if the registeralready contained something, then ":rsh!" would be required. Also note,however, that this means everything will be overwritten with information fromthe first Vim, including the command line history, etc.

The ShaDa file itself can be edited by hand too, although we suggest youstart with an existing one to get the format right. You need to understandMessagePack (or, more likely, find software that is able to use it) format todo this. This can be useful in order to create a second file, say"~/.my.shada", which could contain certain settings that you always want whenyou first start Nvim. For example, you can preload registers withparticular data, or put certain commands in the command line history. A linein yourconfig file like

:rshada! ~/.my.shada

can be used to load this information. You could even have different ShaDafiles for different types of files (e.g., C code) and load them based on thefile name, using the ":autocmd" command (see:autocmd). More information onShaDa file format is contained inshada-format section.

E136E929shada-error-handlingSome errors make Nvim leave temporary file named{basename}.tmp.X (X isany free letter froma toz) while normally it will create this file,write to it and then rename{basename}.tmp.X to{basename}. Such errorsinclude:

Do not forget to remove the temporary file or replace the target file withtemporary one after getting one of the above errors or all attempts to createa ShaDa file may fail withE929. If you got one of them when using:wshada (and not when exiting Nvim: i.e. when you have Nvim sessionrunning) you have additional options:

:rsh:rshadaE886:rsh[ada][!] [file]Read from ShaDa file [file] (default: see above).If [!] is given, then any information that isalready set (registers, marks,v:oldfiles, etc.)will be overwritten.

:wsh:wshadaE137:wsh[ada][!] [file]Write to ShaDa file [file] (default: see above).The information in the file is first read in to makea merge between old and new info. When [!] is used,the old information is not read first, only theinternal info is written (also disables safety checksdescribed inshada-error-handling). If'shada' isempty, marks for up to 100 files will be written.When you get error "E929: All .tmp.X files exist,cannot write ShaDa file!", check that no old tempfiles were left behind (e.g.~/.local/state/nvim/shada/main.shada.tmp*).

Note: Executing :wshada will reset all'quote marks.

:o:ol:oldfiles:o[ldfiles]List the files that have marks stored in the ShaDafile. This list is read on startup and only changesafterwards with:rshada!. Also seev:oldfiles.The number can be used withc_#<.The output can be filtered with:filter, e.g.:

filter /\.vim/ oldfiles

The filtering happens on the file name.

:bro[wse] o[ldfiles][!]List file names as with:oldfiles, and then promptfor a number. When the number is valid that file fromthe list is edited.If you get thepress-enter prompt you can press "q"and still get the prompt to enter a file number.Use [!] to abandon a modified buffer.abandon

ShaDa files are concats of MessagePack entries. Each entry is a concat ofexactly four MessagePack objects:

1. First goes type of the entry. Object type must be an unsigned integer. Object type must not be equal to zero.2. Second goes entry timestamp. It must also be an unsigned integer.3. Third goes the length of the fourth entry. Unsigned integer as well, used for fast skipping without parsing.4. Fourth is actual entry data. All currently used ShaDa entries use containers to hold data: either map or array. All string values in those containers are either binary (applies to filenames) or UTF-8, yet parser needs to expect that invalid bytes may be present in a UTF-8 string.

Exact format depends on the entry type:

1 (Header) Map containing data that describes the generator instance that wrote this ShaDa file. It is ignored when reading ShaDa files. Contains the following data: generator Binary, software used to generate ShaDa file. Is equal to "nvim" when ShaDa file was written by Nvim. version Binary, generator version. encoding Binary, effective'encoding' value. max_kbyte Integer, effectiveshada-s limit value. pid Integer, instance process ID.* It is allowed to have any number of additional keys with any data. 2 (SearchPattern) Map containing data describing last used search or substitute pattern. Normally ShaDa file contains two such entries: one with "ss" key set to true (describes substitute pattern, see:substitute), and one set to false (describes search pattern, seesearch-commands). "su" key should be true on one of the entries. If key value is equal to default then it is normally not present. Keys: sm Boolean true Effective'magic' value. sc Boolean false Effective'smartcase' value. sl Boolean true True if search pattern comes with a line offset. Seesearch-offset. se Boolean false True ifsearch-offset requested to place cursor at (relative to) the end of the pattern. so Integer 0 Offset value.search-offset su Boolean false True if current entry was the last used search pattern. ss Boolean false True if current entry describes:substitute pattern. sh Boolean false True ifv:hlsearch is on. Withshada-h or'nohlsearch' this key is always false. sp Binary N/A Actual pattern. Required. sb Boolean false True if search direction is backward.* any none Other keys are allowed for compatibility reasons, seeshada-compatibility. 3 (SubString) Array containing last:substitute replacement string. Contains single entry: binary, replacement string used. More entries are allowed for compatibility reasons, seeshada-compatibility. 4 (HistoryEntry) Array containing one entry from history. Should have two or three entries. First one is history type (unsigned integer), second is history line (binary), third is the separator character (unsigned integer, must be in interval [0, 255]). Third item is only valid for search history. Possible history types are listed inhist-names, here are the corresponding numbers: 0 - cmd, 1 - search, 2 - expr, 3 - input, 4 - debug. 5 (Register) Map describing one register (registers). If key value is equal to default then it is normally not present. Keys: rt UInteger 0 Register type: 0charwise-register 1linewise-register 2blockwise-register rw UInteger 0 Register width. Only valid forblockwise-registers. rc Array of binary N/A Register contents. Each entry in the array represents its own line. NUL characters inside the line should be represented as NL according toNL-used-for-Nul. ru Boolean false Unnamed register. Whether the unnamed register had pointed to this register. n UInteger N/A Register name: character code in range [1, 255]. Example:quote0 register has name 48 (ASCII code for zero character). * any none Other keys are allowed for compatibility reasons, seeshada-compatibility. 6 (Variable) Array containing two items: variable name (binary) and variable value (any object). Values are converted using the same codemsgpackparse() uses when reading,msgpackdump() when writing, so there may appearmsgpack-special-dicts. If there are more then two entries then the rest are ignored (shada-compatibility). 7 (GlobalMark) 8 (Jump) 10 (LocalMark) 11 (Change) Map containing some position description: GlobalMark Global mark position.'A LocalMark Local mark position.'a Jump One position from thejumplist. Change One position from thechangelist.

Data contained in the map: l UInteger 1 Position line number. Must be greater then zero. c UInteger 0 Position column number. n UInteger 34 ('"') Mark name. Only valid for GlobalMark and LocalMark entries. f Binary N/A File name. Required.* any none Other keys are allowed for compatibility reasons, seeshada-compatibility. 9 (BufferList) Array containing maps. Each map in the array represents one buffer. Possible keys: l UInteger 1 Position line number. Must be greater then zero. c UInteger 0 Position column number. f Binary N/A File name. Required.* any none Other keys are allowed for compatibility reasons, seeshada-compatibility.* (Unknown) Any other entry type is allowed for compatibility reasons, seeshada-compatibility.

E575E576Errors in ShaDa file may have two types:1. E575 for “logical” errors.2. E576 for “critical” errors.When writing, critical errors trigger behaviour described inshada-error-handling.When reading, critical errors cause the rest of the file to be skipped.Critical errors include:shada-critical-contents-errors

Nvim stores configuration, data, and logs in standard locations. Plugins arestrongly encouraged to follow this pattern also. Usestdpath() to get thepaths.

base-directoriesxdgThe "base" (root) directories conform to the XDG Base Directory Specification.https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir/latest/The $XDG_CONFIG_HOME, $XDG_DATA_HOME, $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR, $XDG_STATE_HOME,$XDG_CACHE_HOME, $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS and $XDG_DATA_DIRS environment variablesare used if defined, else default values (listed below) are used.

Note: In the help these defaults are used as placeholders, e.g. "~/.config" isunderstood as "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME or ~/.config".

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME Nvim: stdpath("config") Unix: ~/.config ~/.config/nvim Windows: ~/AppData/Local ~/AppData/Local/nvim

$XDG_DATA_HOME Nvim: stdpath("data") Unix: ~/.local/share ~/.local/share/nvim Windows: ~/AppData/Local ~/AppData/Local/nvim-data

$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR Nvim: stdpath("run") Unix: /tmp/nvim.user/xxx /tmp/nvim.user/xxx Windows: $TMP/nvim.user/xxx $TMP/nvim.user/xxx

$XDG_STATE_HOME Nvim: stdpath("state") Unix: ~/.local/state ~/.local/state/nvim Windows: ~/AppData/Local ~/AppData/Local/nvim-data

$XDG_CACHE_HOME Nvim: stdpath("cache") Unix: ~/.cache ~/.cache/nvim Windows: ~/AppData/Local/Temp ~/AppData/Local/Temp/nvim-data

$NVIM_LOG_FILE Nvim: stdpath("log")/log Unix: ~/.local/state/nvim ~/.local/state/nvim/log Windows: ~/AppData/Local/nvim-data ~/AppData/Local/nvim-data/log

Note that stdpath("log") is currently an alias for stdpath("state").

$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS Nvim: stdpath("config_dirs") Unix: /etc/xdg/ /etc/xdg/nvim Windows: Not applicable Not applicable

$XDG_DATA_DIRS Nvim: stdpath("data_dirs") Unix: /usr/local/share /usr/local/share/nvim /usr/share /usr/share/nvim Windows: Not applicable Not applicable

NVIM_APPNAME$NVIM_APPNAME

The standard directories can be further configured by the$NVIM_APPNAMEenvironment variable. This variable controls the sub-directory that Nvim willread from (and auto-create) in each of the base directories. For example,setting$NVIM_APPNAME to "foo" before starting will cause Nvim to look forconfiguration files in$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/foo instead of$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nvim.$NVIM_APPNAME must be a name, such as "foo", or arelative path, such as "foo/bar".

Note: In the help wherever$XDG_CONFIG_…/nvim is mentioned it is understoodas$XDG_CONFIG_…/$NVIM_APPNAME.

state-isolation
One use-case for $NVIM_APPNAME is to "isolate" Nvim applications.Alternatively, for true isolation, on Linux you can use cgroups namespaces:

systemd-run --user -qt -p PrivateUsers=yes -p BindPaths=/home/user/profile_xy:/home/user/.config/nvim nvim

stateless
To run Nvim without creating any directories or data files:

NVIM_LOG_FILE=/dev/null nvim -n -i NONE

LOG FILElog$NVIM_LOG_FILEE5430

Besides'debug' and'verbose', Nvim keeps a general log file for internaldebugging, plugins and RPC clients.

:echo $NVIM_LOG_FILE

By default, the file is located at stdpath("log")/log ($XDG_STATE_HOME/nvim/log)unless that path is inaccessible or if $NVIM_LOG_FILE was set beforestartup.